


Starkillers

by Sparkleypegs



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Declarations Of Love, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Forbidden Love, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghosts, Force Visions, Friendship/Love, Grey Force Users, Kylo Ren Angst, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Love, Love Confessions, POV Ben Solo, POV Finn (Star Wars), POV Kylo Ren, POV Rey (Star Wars), Protective Kylo Ren, Redeemed Ben Solo, Resolved Sexual Tension, Reylo - Freeform, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Some Humor, The Force, True Love, Unrequited Love, kylo finding himself, love and sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-14 00:07:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13581846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparkleypegs/pseuds/Sparkleypegs
Summary: Months after Crait, Rey has been on the run from Kylo Ren. Destiny will bring the two together in the Outer Rim.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been 3 months since the events on Crait and Rey was on the run. She did not want to endanger the tiny band of people she loved that were the core of the resistance. Although Kylo Ren could not see her surroundings through the force bond, if he got close enough to her in the universe he could use the force in general to sense her and her location, as she could him. This could also work to Rey's advantage. When she sensed Kylo was near she would run again. Run from the only person she was truly connected with. Deep in her soul she felt the unrelenting pain of being apart from him. The mighty darkside warrior that had shown her he was the only person in the universe that made her feel she was not alone. And yet she had to deny their connection. Kylo Ren was coming to kill her, and he would not stop until he had destoyed her.

Rey's life now was even more lonely than ever before. Constantly moving through the galaxies outer regions, swapping one small craft for another to throw off being recognised by those loyal to the Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and the First order. Rey would disguise herself to pick up supplies at the larger remote black market outposts, then disappear once again to anywhere that was deserted. She favoured the green planets even though she knew they were the ones Kylo Ren would search first. The desert planets dug at her soul too much and reminded her of that sad lonely childhood, waiting for a family that did not want her. The one good thing about this game of cat and mouse was that it kept the Supreme Leader occupied. The resistance did not interest him, only Rey did, 100% of the time.

The one thing that hurt the most was their force connection. It could not be stopped or slowed. It was there for all time. In the dark, when she would be at her loneliest, unable to sleep, thinking of mistakes made, those lost, and what could have been, he would come to her. Ben, always calm, never angry with her as she could not be angry with him. "Where are you Rey?' He would ask every time in that soft cooing deep tone of his. Many a time she had nearly given in to him, let him find her, let him kill her just to end this pain. His simple words dragged at her inner most soul. Rey would never reply, there was no point. There seemed like nothing she could say now that could persuade him of the future she had glimpsed of him, and talking to him would just make this gut wrenching connection even more painful and would make it so much harder for her to resist him. Sometimes she would linger longer than she should, letting her eyes roam over his face and large dark frame, allowing herself to look deep into his calm brown eyes that belied the turmoil that crucified him on the inside. She still saw the light in him, but knew he had to understand it himself to be able to accept it. In those times she allowed herself the tiny comfort of remembering the night they touched through the force bond. When she saw his future in the light. But the force, it was somehow wrong, had Snoke implanted the vision? 

Rey knew that one day she would have to face him, Kylo Ren, her Dark Side equal. But the fact of the matter was even though she believed the Dark Side in him would force him to kill her to end his own pain and weakness, that she would never be able to kill him. Their bond was too strong. Rey knew her heart would not be able to withstand such pain inflicted on him. His end would be her's in the end. She would not be able to endure the pain of seeing those sad brown eyes closing forever. Even though the force bond was deeply painful for her, at least when he came to her she knew he was alive, somewhere out there in the universe. When Rey finally was able to sleep her dreams would inevitably be of Ben. The dreams would be choppy and unsettling, just glimpses of him over and over. She would awaken sweating and somehow exhausted. This man pervaded her waking moments and her sleep, she could physically run from him but there was no escape from the force bond or her own mind. Was this a kind of love, or just the pull of the force bond. Rey had never been in love, how could she know? One thing was clear, one day this would all end, and the very thought of it was like a knife through her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Kylo Ren sat in his command shuttle alone. The ship was on auto pilot as he scoured holomaps of the outer rim, looking for likely hiding places. Somewhere...Rey was somewhere out here, but where? He WOULD find her, if it took him till his last breath, he would find her! Becoming the Supreme Leader of the First Order meant nothing to him now. It felt so hollow and worthless. Kylo had left Hux in charge of all of it whilst he and the Knights of Ren searched for Rey. The first order bored and irritated him. Kylo could not abide the petty squabbling of Hux. The urge to dispatch that filthy little man was overwhelming. Better to let him get on with the mundane running of the first order, allowing Kylo to take his leave freely.

Rey! That name! Every time he thought of it, it ate through to his very core with such intensity. Why had this happened the way it had, this was not what he had foreseen. Rey would stand with him, he had seen it! He felt the deep anger rising inside him yet again as he remembered how they had fought together after Snokes destruction. The perfection of it, the beauty, like a dance. Rey was his equal in the force, together their power would be unsurpassed in the galaxy. Why would she refuse his offer to join him? The anger was boiling in him now, she had refused him, and that had cut him deeply, so much deeper than the scar she had left on his face.

Day after day for the past 3 months Kylo had raged over Rey leaving him. The anger was almost uncontrollable sometimes. The pain made his mind reel. And yet nearly every night, when he would suddenly connect with Rey through the force bond, No matter what he had felt prior to each force connection, no matter how angry, no matter how much he vowed to destroy her if she refused him again, all that would vaporise the instant he was in her presence. Whenever they connected a wave of calm washed over him, soothed him. Things became clear in his mind, for those brief, blessed moments there was no conflict in him, just her. He would see her face, her bright hopefull eyes, that still saw the good in him, that believed in him still when no one else in the universe did. The light in her that radiated outwards like the brightest star, it made him feel that anything was possible and that if Rey would just accept his offer, they would never be alone again. Time after time he would ask her "Where are you Rey?" and she would never answer even though every time, he prayed she would.

Those connections were the only times he knew pure peace and there was something more, he could not explain it to himself. He would see her face, her tiny frame, and be somehow whole but lost. Sometimes she would not break the connection quickly and he would have the chance, even though she would not speak to him, to study her closely. The tiny, freckled nose, her soft lips, and her eyes that sparkled with light but also sadness and lonliness. It was in these times he had a deep need to pull her to him. To wrap his arms around her and crush her against him and never let her go. Kylo knew he could end those feelings he sensed in her, one way or another. 

The one thing that was perfectly clear to Kylo was that he had to find Rey. He would find her and she would join him...


	3. Chapter 3

Rey's ship lurched as it began its decent onto the forest moon. It had been steadily losing power and she had been lucky to make it to the planet in time. She would need to repair this quickly after landing in case she needed to make a quick gettaway. She had some spare parts on board and hoped they would be enough to get this hunk of junk going again. The small ship landed roughly, and Rey had to use the force to ensure it didnt flip once it jerked to a halt. Climbing out of the craft she found herself in a clearing amongst tall trees and boy was she hungry! She quickly fixed herself a small meal from her rations but decided not to light a fire until she had scouted out this place during the daylight hours tomorrow. Rey could smell pine needles, and the faint scent of something flowering nearby.

It was soothing sitting in the moonlight next to her small ship listening to the night sounds of this quiet forest moon. She took out the sacred Jedi texts to flip through as she usually did. They were pretty dull but at least it gave her something to do on nights like this. With a tiny torch she would go over the verses in the books, looking for clues that might help her through this time. Luke had taught her very little and in fact she had learned more about the force from Kylo Ren than from Luke Skywalker. The irony was not lost on her. She put the book she had been skimming down as she felt she might actually be able to sleep this night for a change. 

Suddenly the air seemed to be sucked up around her, that familiar feeling of nothing and silence engulfed her. Rey knew what was coming next. She looked up and there he was again. Brown eyes gazing calmly at her. Closer tonight than usual, as though he were sitting right next to her. So close she felt she might feel his breath on her had he been any closer. They stared at each other. She watched as his eyes travelled from her eyes to her lips then up to her flyaway hair then back to her eyes. Rey found his face fascinating. His dark hair falling down framing his long features. She had memorised his beauty spots, she could plot them like the stars now. His thickly lashed dark eyes were somehow calming to her, even though this man could be so violent and unstable, to Rey his eyes were always kind and...there was something else, she didnt want to say attractive because it sounded weird to her but really thats what they were, rather beautiful.

Her eyes moved over his strong nose to his full lips. She found the way he moved his mouth and chin fascinating. She watched his supple lips begin to move as she heard the familiar words..."Rey...where are you?" and there it was, that pull at her very soul, drawing her too him. "Rey" he repeated. The sound of her name echoing through the void in that rich deep tone made the longing so much harder to bare and tonight she felt tired and weak and sick of running. "Ben..." she replied. His eyes widened, a tiny smile curved up on one side of his mouth, anyone else wouldnt have noticed it but she had seen it before and recognised the twinge of happiness he suddenly felt. She realised immediatley she should not have replied. The longing caused tears to form in her eyes, she made to look away, to break the connection. "Wait!" Kylo said, "Please don't...you only have to tell me where you are...and this pain...it can end" Rey just stared at him, lost in his eyes, if she looked away now he would be gone, but now she couldnt help herself, she had looked too long and let his words settle in her mind, let them sooth her, let his warm brown eyes envelope her like the softest arms around her. 

"I miss you" the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her cheeks went rosy pink as she felt so utterly stupid for what she had just said. Kylos mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out, as though he was lost as to what to say next. And then the quietest of whispers escaped his lips as he looked at her intensly with those moist brown eyes that seemed almost teary to her "Please Rey...where are you? Don't be afraid, I...cannot hurt you, you must know that" A big wet tear rolled down over her cheek as she fought an inward battle with herself not to tell him where she was, even though she wanted to tell him, so badly. His brow furrowed into a worried expression as he watched her cry. He pulled the leather glove off one hand and she watched as he raised his hand to her face. He used his thumb to wipe away the tear on her cheek and the second he made contact with her skin they both gasped slightly.

That contact, the vision! There it was again for both of them. It WAS real. But how? Rey quickly looked away and broke the connection. Thank the gods! That had been all too close. She had nearly given in to him. She knew that could not happen again or it would be the end of her. Kylo Ren only wanted her to join him on his terms. Terms Rey could never accept. Rey wiped her eyes and sighed deeply. She knew that once she was able to get to sleep she would dream only of Ben. Ben's deep brown eyes and and gentle touch on her cheek. "Damn you Kylo Ren!" she thought as she clenched her fists in frustration "This private hell has been reserved for just you and I to suffer through, damn you!" And with that she climbed into the ship and shut the door, pulled the blanket over her head and eventually drifted off into the fitful sleep she had fully predicted, praying for the morning to wake her and bring her sweet relief.


	4. Chapter 4

Kylo Ren, menacing Supreme Leader of the First Order was simmering with anger at his failure yet again to find Rey. The Knights of Ren had found nothing even though they were spread all over the galaxy searching for the girl. Kylo was frustrated. Rey was so good at hiding, at running. But he would find her eventually, he had no doubt, but the hunt was wearing thin on him. The lack of progress made him want to break things. He held back as he did not want to wreck his own command shuttle but it took every fibre in his being not to ignite his crackling red lightsabre and rip the guts out of everything around him. It was late and as he fumed and seethed he considered he should try and sleep his frustration away, when suddenly...there he was staring at Reys pretty face, and all the anger faded into nothingness as though it had never existed at all. 

Wherever she was it was dark, her face was dimly lit by a very small torch she held in her hand, and yet her eyes beamed and sparkled out gloriously to him. He was taken aback for a moment or two, suddenly so close to her, closer than usual. He perused her face and hair slowly, her hair was a bit messy and he wanted to softly tuck the flyaway whisps behind her delicate little ears. "Rey...where are you?" he soothed quietly. Of course there was no reply. He expected that. "Rey" He said again in that same soothing tone, his voice echoing in the void between them. And then as he was losing himself in her light filled eyes she spoke, "Ben..." His eyes widened, Ye gods she spoke! He had not heard her speak for so long! The sound of Reys voice made him smile slightly. Never had he thought he would be this happy to hear the sound of her voice again.

Kylo felt a strange giddiness in his mind as he saw the tears welling in those glorious eyes, like liquid sadness. Rey began to turn her head and his heart nearly stopped as his mind screamed NO! "Wait!" Kylo blurted out "Please don't...you only have to tell me where you are...and this pain..it can end" this was definately one of those moments he wanted to crush her to him so badly that she could hardly breath. If only he was truly there with her right now, he would show her... And then the words that came out of her mouth nearly broke him. "I miss you" Rey said softly. Her cheeks flushed and ye gods it was more than he could bare. He felt he must have looked a complete fool with his mouth dropped open, unable to answer in his surprise. So much for Supreme Leader he thought.

When he finally found his tongue all that he could manage was a whisper, "Please Rey...where are you? Don't be afraid, I...cannot hurt you, you must know that" A tear rolled over her cheek and nearly broke his heart all over again. Without even thinking about it he had removed his glove and had wiped away the tear with his thumb. His huge hand dwarfing her delicate features. As soon as he touched her soft cheek he was jolted as he instantly saw the vision of their future again. Surely Rey could not deny it this time, she must have seen it as plainly as he had. This was no trick played by Snoke. There was no falsness about it. This would happen. As his heart suddenly leapt at the reality of what he had just seen Rey looked away and the connection was gone. Kylo leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. Good god this was hard to take. "I will find you Rey, I swear it!" he said quietly to himself.

As he climbed into bed onboard his shuttle he thought what madness this all was, how much his life had changed since this girl, Rey the scavenger, had entered his world. It was all so insane. He had seen force visions of his equal before he had met her. This person who would be his match in the force, he assumed some high born person much like himself, not this pretty little junkers orphan from the outer rim. And yet there she was, the most important person in the universe to him, and he would never let her go, ever. That night he dreamed of a childhood long forgotten. “Ben?” a voice called, “Ben, where are you?” “I'm here!” The little boy struggled to get out the words, his voice made no sound. He was desperate that they hear him... "Please don't go...I'm here” It was little more than a wheeze. He felt distraught. They would never hear him, never find him, never save him! The dream melted away into the dark abyss and his mind was awash with the image of a girl from Jakku, his arms wrapped around her tightly, telling her over and over that she would never be alone again.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey woke and had a big stretch while she yawned widely. Looking around absent mindedly she smacked her mouth together...parched! Must have slept like a pig again, snoring loudly with her mouth wide open all night she mused. She jumped out of the small ship and grabbed her canteen to loudly guzzle down a heap of water. Phew! Much better. Rey looked around her, there were little birds chirping high up in the tall trees, the sun shone brightly making her squint after the darkness of her ship. The smell of the forest filled her nostrils as she breathed deeply. Glorious she thought. Too early for food she mused, and decided to go for a wander to see what else this planet had to offer. 

Her boots scrunched on the dead pine needles and twigs underfoot as she meandered around. Enjoying the luxury of being able to take her time to look around. Rey had walked for some time uphill when she came to an opening in the trees. Looking down she could see a beautiful crystal blue lake with a large white shoreline. Thick forest butted up against the white sand. The place seemed pristine. This really was one of the most beautiful forest moons Rey had been on. She could see herself living out her days on somewhere like this. A small dwelling, fishing and hunting and growing lush green things to eat. It made her heart feel happy thinking of such simple pleasures, thinking of such a simple life. If only...she would ever be allowed to persue a dream like that. But no! She would not allow herself to drift off into that deep well of melancholy today. This place was too special to be ruined by sadness. Rey smiled to herself as she watched the little birds flit through the sunshine from tree to tree and drank in the freshness around her. This place, it really was an example of the force in perfect balance. Her stomach growled, time for breakfast she thought as she jogged back down the hill. This was going to be one of her most pleasant hideouts, and it made her heart sing a little thinking about that. 

Rey shoved down the bread and cheese like a ravenous beast, while the forest sounds and sights entertained her. She felt relaxed and drowsy after the food and lay down on a patch of soft grass under a huge tree near her ship. Although she had intended on getting straight onto repairing her her ship after breakfast she found herself drifting away. A quick nap on this soft, sweet smelling, natural bed couldnt hurt. She would worry about the world when she woke later. It was the first time in an age that sleep came quickly as she slipped away into a dream about little birds that dipped and flitted through a bright blue sky, when she looked at herself, she was one of those little birds too, free to soar into the blue and to skim her tiny wings across the surface of that beautiful clear blue lake, not a care in the world.

Kylo Ren had just recieved some news that lifted him a little out of the simmering, volatile state he constantly found himself in. Someone had recently traded a small ship for one planted by one of the Knights of Ren on an outter rim planet. It had a homing beacon hidden on board and Kylo was on its trail. Kylo found himself headed towards a deserted forest moon far from anywhere. It certainly sounded like the kind of place Rey would be hiding on. She loved forest, rain and sea. He had seen that all too clearly in the deep recessess of her mind. Not surprising he thought, considering what a dry, desolate hole the planet of Jakku was. Rey....would this be it? Would he finally find the little scavenger? He called her that sometimes to steel himself against her. In actual fact it never worked. It was more of a term of endearment than anything else. As he closed in on the forest moon he felt Reys familiar hum through the force. like a summer firefly, shining small and bright and always just out of his reach. Already just feeling her through the force had slightly calmed the raging tempest inside him and had certainly stoked his excitement. "I have you now" he thought to himself, and a slight, crooked smile danced on the corner of his mouth without him even realising it.

Rey awoke with a start. That sound, "NO!" She screamed the word in her own mind as she heard a ship close by and felt the dark presence of Kylo Ren seep into her senses. Startled, Rey sprinted to the top of the small hill in time to see Kylo Rens command shuttle coming in to land on the white sands next to the shimmering lake. Her chest heaving she took off back to her ship. Hoiking out the bag of parts and using the force to hurl them far into the forest undergrowth, before stuffing some supplies into her pack and running as fast as she could away from where her ship was and that lake that had suddenly become so unwelcoming. Rey's heart raced as she ran. She knew she was trapped. By running she was only putting off the inevitable. Still it was better to run now and live a little longer than face him and die today.

Kylo Rens shuttle touched down on the white sand next to the lake sending sand billowing up in plumes and then settling. He stalked down the gangplank surveying the thick green forest. This place, familiar somehow...but why? No matter, he brushed the feeling aside. He had a much more important mission. The homing device flashed as it pinpointed the placement of Reys little ship. Kylo ignited his lightsaber to chop his way through the thick undergrowth as he made a beeline towards the ship. His heart pounded in his chest, would Rey be with the ship? He knew her well enough to know she would not just be waiting meekly for him to find her, she would fight him, hard! However much it upset and irritated him that she would drag this out, he had to admire her spirit. That gritty perserverance that had kept her alive on Jakku all those years. That girl definately knew how to look after herself. 

Kylo broke through the brush into the small clearing where Rey's ship was sitting. Kylo knew straight away, Rey was gone. The door of her ship was wide open as though she left in a hurry. There were very few supplies in it which told him she had packed whatever she could carry and was more than likely on foot in the forest somewhere. And now all he had to do was hunt her down. He was so close now. The hum of her constant in his mind through the force... the words she had spoken to him only last night..."I miss you" It stunned him even now. Would she finally join him? Kylo looked around into the forest, trying to get a sense of her direction. Although Rey had gone he felt some relief that he had finally found her location and she wouldnt be leaving this moon any time soon.

Kylo set off into the forest. Rey couldnt have gone too far he thought. It would be pointless trying to locate her in his shuttle. The forest was too dense to see into it, and there was no where to land a shuttle that size aside from the area around the lake. Better to hone in on her on foot. The closer he got to her the deeper the hum of her force energy became. It was only a matter of time before he had her. 

Rey trekked solidly and quickly during the daylight hours. She could feel the dark velvety cloak of Kylo Rens force energy all around her. It spurred her on to keep on moving. By the time the sun started to set Rey was exhausted but still she kept moving while there was a speck of daylight left. She knew once night set in she would have to stop. It would be impossible and dangerous to try to keep moving through the thick forest in the pitch black. Rey had made her way up a peak that afforded her a view into the valley below. Once again there would be no fire tonight and no reading by torch light, not that it mattered. Rey was so tired from hiking, she knew she'd sleep well tonight, no matter what her dreams brought her. 

Kylo Ren stomped on wards as night fell. He had hoped he would have caught up to Rey by now. He was tired, so tired now. He plonked himself down with his back up against a huge tree, and just as he did everything around him evaporated and suddenly there she was. Rey in the dappled moonlight. They stared at each other. Kylo could see the anger in her eyes as she glared at him. "Rey...where..." and she suddenly broke the connection making him flinch slightly. It was tantamount to a slap in the face. Kylo Leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree, closed his eyes and sighed. "I miss you" her words swirled through his hazy mind. "I miss you too" he whispered to himself as he drifted into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey woke with a start. MOVE! she thought, must get moving NOW! As she began to haul herself up she paused...All this hiking was exhausting. It was only a matter of time before Kylo Ren caught up with her, and Rey would be so tired she'd barely be able to put up a fight. Maybe it was time to face him after all. Rey sat back down and dug out some bread and cheese from her pack. The sun was up and the pine needle smell of the forest was glorious to her. Those little birds where chirping like mad and their syncapated song boistered her spirits as she munched on her breakfast. Rey thought about the brief connection she'd had with Ben last night. She had been so angry, not with Ben but with herself for getting trapped here like this. "Stupid", she thought. A new plan formulated in her mind. After breakfast she would rest a little more, then head back down the slope to the lake. She felt sweaty and filthy and scratched up from hiking all that way. A swim in that clear blue lake would feel amazing! For some strange reason she felt happy and it wasnt long before she was heading down to that white sandy shore. At least going down was far easier than going up. The little birds danced circles in the blue sky over head and made her smile.

Kylo Rens eyes snapped open. How long had he slept? The sun was high in the sky and he cursed himself for not waking up sooner. He moaned as he stood up. Sleeping with his back against the tree for so long had made him stiff and sore. Not to mention all the walking the day before. "Idiot!" he thought to himself. Rey had a huge head start on him now. Then he heard it. A loud boom with a series of other explosions following it. Then he saw the ominous black cloud of smoke billow up into the sky from the direction of the lake. "The shuttle!" He thought. "No!...how...REY!" Ye gods it was Rey, no doubt about it. He started to make his way back to the lake. Hoping his shuttle was repairable. When he finally broke through the trees some time later he was greeted with the sight of his command shuttle, completely destroyed and still burning in a huge charred heap. Kylo was stunned. He stared at the black smoking wreck. Then he saw movement on the lake, felt the strong hum of the force...was that...REY! Swimming in that water like she had not a care in the universe. 

Kylo watched her for a moment, gliding through the water on the far side of the lake like she had been born here. But how did she...oh well he supposed, it wasnt that hard to learn to swim. And he knew Rey to be a fast learner. Then he saw her stop...she sensed him. Her head turned and she looked directly at him. His heart stopped. Rey! In the flesh. She eyed him for a split second then swam to the shore. Her slim figure emerged from the waters, the thin undertunic she had been swimming in clung to her shape, her wet hair hung down her back, her legs bare in the sunshine. Kylo had never seen her like this, near naked and soaking wet. He watched her pull on her over tunic and hop on one leg pulling on her pants in an awkward manner that made him smirk. Then she bent down and picked something up, then she ignited it...

Anakins light saber! Rey had repaired it. She stood and twirled it around her head, performing with it like it was a toy, Back and forth she flicked and spun the blue sabre and then...His eyes widened and once again his mouth dropped open a little as he stared in amazement...she ignited it a second time! A double ended light sabre. That girl never ceases to amaze me, Kylo thought to himself. Rey spun the thing in the air, twisting and turning it this way and that, her expertise with a staff shining through. Kylo could clearly see she had been practicing, and the results were...special. That display would have scared the poodoo out of anyone else. But not Kylo. It did, however, impress him...mightily! 

Rey Smiled to herself as she showed off with the lightsaber on the lake shore. "Bring it" she thought. Whatever happened between them, she was prepared to give him a fight he would never forget. She continued her display expecting Kylo to charge over to her. Instead he simply stood and stared, unmoving. He was to far away for her to see his facial expression, so there was no way for her to gauge his reaction. And then he simply turned and walked in the direction of her ship. What was he doing? This was completely unexpected. Reys lightsabre dropped to her side as she watched him disappear into the forest. She grabbed her pack off the sand and sprinted after him, crashing through the forest, she came upon him still walking at that same ambling pace. She stopped and ignited her lightsabre with a loud buzz. "Ben!" She yelled at his back. Reys face took on a totally confused look. Kylo did not stop, did not turn. Just kept on walking. "Ben?" She asked. He still did not stop, did not turn, did not reply. She jogged up beside him, turned off her lightsaber and keeping the same pace, looked up at him. Her brow was slightly furrowed and her nose scrunched up in sheer bewilderment as she addressed him again "Ben??" Finally, without breaking stride he glanced at her, then went back to looking forward again, into the forest. Was he...smirking?? Rey was stumped. Of all the things she had imagined on them meeting face to face again, this was not one of them. They walked side by side in silence to the site of her ship, Rey kept looking at him completely confused. What was this? No attacking her? No reprimands for totally destroying his shuttle? Just this smirk of a smile and him just ignoring her? Weird! She thought so, so weird. 

Kylo Ren smiled quietly to himself. What a little spark of energy she was. All that bluster and show all for his benefit. He felt quite honored that she'd put so much effort into that little spectacle just for his sake. Even chasing him down and trying to confront him. HIM, the Supreme Leader of the first order. Hilarious. If anyone else had done that he'd have destroyed them in seconds. And now, after three months of raging and relentlesly searching for her, here she was, the little spitfire scavenger, walking quietly beside him as though they had never been apart. Ironic? Oh yes, very much so. Rey's confused expression and scrunched up little nose was priceless. Kylo had not been this entertained in a long time, or so calm and centered, especially considering Rey had completely destroyed his command shuttle. But that was the effect this little creature had on him, and he knew it full well.

When they arrived at the clearing, Kylo walked over to the ship. Bending down he stuck his head in the open door and perused the inside. He then turned to Rey. Before he could speak she blurted out, "Its damaged, you cant fly it!" Kylo almost cut her off "I can see that, or you would have used this junk heap to take off as soon as you sensed I was near" He paused a moment before continuing on "Your tools" His voice was deep and soft, oozing perfect calm, "Your too self sufficient to have been travelling without repair tools and spare parts, especially considering the state of the ships you have been flying...where are they?" Rey glared at him. "If you think I'm going to volunteer that information you can think again!" She stated matter of factly. Kylo walked right up to her, Rey took a little step backwards as he came mere inches away from her. Towering over her he looked down, right into her eyes. "I have no way of contacting the First Order to send another ship, and the only way off this planet is in your rust bucket here" He motioned towards the tiny defunct ship, his voice a deep, calm coo. "So it looks like we are at a stalemate, doesn't it Rey?!"


	7. Chapter 7

Rey stared hard up at Ben, feeling his strong force presence wrap around her, thinking what a hulking man he was, when she heard his stomach growl. He hadnt eaten today, and by the looks she had incinerated any rations he had when she destroyed his shuttle. Rey suddenly felt very guilty. "I have some food" she said as she broke away from his dark eyes and started rumaging through her pack. Ben tried to argue "I don't need..." Rey cut in "Errr, yes you do!" She promptly plonked herself down on the sweet smelling pine needles cross legged and held up a wedge each of thick cheese and bread. "Here...sit!" She commanded.

Ben looked at her for a moment. Everything she did was a surprise to him. Who knows what she would do next. That tiny lip curl of his that signaled a smile of sorts slowly formed, as he sat down cross legged next to her. He took the food she offered without saying a word. Rey looked down and smiled a little as she took a big bite of her bread and cheese. Crumbs everywhere, cheeks full, chomping like a nerf that hadnt eaten in days. Ben took a small bite of her offering and chewed it slowly, it was dry and stale but it was food and Rey was right. He was actually starving and grateful for the sustenance. Rey pulled out a canteen. "I filled this in the lake this morning" she said cheerily, its perfectly ok to drink" She passed it to him. Ben studied her face and took the canteen without even looking at it. "Thank you" he said quietly, before drinking deeply. Her force hum filled his senses. He didnt smell the pine needles, nor hear the birds chirping in the tree tops, or even feel the cool breeze that was pleasantly meandering through the trees. All he could feel was Rey. Like the sun she shone down on him, he could feel the dark places in him crawling from her light, but having no where to hide.

"The parts Rey" Ben asked again while they ate, "Where are they?" There was no urgency in his voice, no anger. "You know I won't tell you, right?" Rey replied. "Your only putting off the inevitable, you do realise that don't you?" Ben's voice, so smooth and deep. Like a beautiful song swirling through Rey's mind. Being here with him like this, the pain of separation was gone, as though a salv had been applied to her whole body. His velvety darkness in the force, like a warm cloak covering every part of her, comforting her. "How long Rey..." Ben spoke earnestly, "Did you intend on running?" Rey could see the honest emotion in his deep brown eyes. "I don't know...I was scared...we could kill each other" Rey said as she eyed the scar on his face. The one she had given him. It was a prime example of what could happen between them. Rey gingerly lifted her hand, and gently touched the scar on his cheek with the tips of her fingers, felt the jolt of their connection as she touched him, felt the hard ridges and hollows the wound had left. The Dark Side she thought, that voice in her head that told her to finish him.

It was painful for her to think of how she hurt him that night, thought about killing him! Ben sat calmly and let her run her fingers softly over the deep mark on his face. He gave her a small crooked smile as if to ease her concern, his voice so soft and low, "I will never hurt you Rey, whatever happens, I just...when we are together..." He stopped. "Don't be afraid Ben..." Rey soothed as he gazed into her eyes. "When I am with you..." He said softly "I see clearly, I am not so...hear me Rey, I promise you, here and now, I will never hurt you...and I will kill any one who tries!" Ben removed his gloves and his hand came up and gently encircled Reys wrist as she touched his face. He moved his hand into hers and bought their hands down to rest on his knee. Rey looked at his huge hand dwarfing her own. The warmth and affection of this simple act further convinced Rey that this giant of a man could be so very gentle and she felt the light in him more than ever. "Will you tell me where the parts and tools are now?" Ben asked hopefully. "Nope!" Rey said with a smile, "No chance!" He smirked straight back at her and a sound that quietly rumbled in his throat made Rey think she had actually made Ben laugh. Even if it was only very slightly. As they finished their meal, such as it was, Ben was revelling at her touch in silence. The intimacy and acceptance was something he had longed for, but did not believe he deserved from anyone. He was a monster after all, but not to Rey. 

Sudden ground vibration...something wasnt right, Ben glanced around into the forest, then looked at Rey in alarm. "You feel that??" Rey jumped to her feet, grabbing her lightsabre. Ben leaped up, hand on his hilt. There was a rumble, branches breaking, trees shaking, something big was on its way. The huge snarling creature burst through the trees into the clearing with a rush of twigs and leaves. The huge dog like thing with a whip tail, all muscle, claws and teeth growled loudly as it stalked around Rey and Ben, sizing them, up. "Whoa! It's massive!" exclaimed Rey. "Vornkr!" Ben yelled back at her. "Don't bother using the force on it, these creatures are immune" The pair of them ignited their lightsabres. "Ive never seen one this big!" Ben declared "And hes damn hungry to be attacking during the day!" The thing leapt at Rey, choosing the smaller of the two as the easier target. Rey jumped out of the way and swung at the creatures back, wounding it but only superficially. It spun, snarling and snapping, drool hanging from its gaping maw. "Watch the tail!" Ben yelled "Poison!" "Oh great" Rey yelled back sarcastically, "Anything else I should know?" 

At that instant the thing tried to whip Ben in the face with its long flexible tail. He bent backwards sharply to avoid it. The pair instinctively split and got either side of the beast. It made another leap at Rey and Ben charged at it from behind. Rey slid underneath it and cleanly sliced off one of its legs below the knee as she skidded on through with her sabre. Meanwhile Ben had leaped over her and holding his crackling red sabre high in the air as he jumped, bought it down straight through the beasts lower back. The tail whipped through the air narrowly missing Ben. The beast screamed as Rey ran up and drove her sabre into its heart. The beast slumped to the ground. Rey looked at Ben with her nose screwed up and a curious expression, "So is it edibl...." She suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous, she staggered backwards. Ben raced to her and caught her in his arms before she fell over backwards, Groggily she looked at him with hooded eyes, "Whaa happen..." She slurred out the words as Ben said "Poison!, the tail, its nicked your arm..." And then Rey passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another chapter that is nearly ready, I just need to go over it a little more before I post it.


	8. Chapter 8

Rey groggily opened her eyes. Her head ached. Darkness, sudden fear! Where the hell am I?? she thought, her eyes were hazy and sore like there was sand in them, panic was rushing through her. Her eyes started to adjust a little in the gloom, she suddenly realised she was in her ship. Ye gods she was a prisoner in her own ship! Kylo Ren! That bastard! She reached for the handle of the sliding door and...it opened? Oh...not a prisoner she thought to herself sheepishly. A small wave of guilt washed over her for judging Ben so quickly. 

Light streamed in and Rey squinted as her eyes started to adjust. A fire, the smell of something good cooking that made her gut lurch with hunger, and past that, movement. Ben! What the...NAKED?? Wait, not naked. Phew! Not far from it though. Her eyes adjusted to the sight of the tall figure in just a pair of black trunks, pulling on his pants. His hair was wet and falling into his eyes. He must have washed himself in the lake. She couldnt imagine him actually enjoying a swim. Rey watched him for a few moments as the muscular legs slipped into the black pants and he stretched a black tank over his impressive shoulders and torso. He suddenly glanced over in Reys direction and she awkwardly looked away pretending she had not just been gawking at him. Her cheeks flushed a rosy hue at being caught staring at him. "Ahhh" She hissed quietly to herself as her head pounded with the sudden head movement and then the soothing sound of that deep voice drifted through her thumping pain. "Rey! Stay still. The toxin..." 

Ben walked over to the fire and inspected the chunks of meat and tubers he had roasting over it. Glancing at Rey squinting in the light he estimated the poison should be out of her system within the next 12 hours or so. She had been unconcious for about 3 hours. Little miss self sufficient actually needed him now. He smirked to himself, considering the situation. "Ive set up a perimeter alarm from parts out of your ship. In case we get anymore visitors" He said casually. "That beast, the Vornkr. They hunt Force users" Rey looked startled "What?? How do they..." Ben cut her off "Hence their immunity to the force. Thats what the toxin in the tail is for. Incapacitating its prey for an easy kill. We need to be careful, especially at night. We will need to sleep in your ship" The look of horror on Rey's face at his last comment made him smirk all the more to himself. The both of them loners, never having had to occupy the same sleeping space as another being. He could sense her trying to to keep her composure over the strange notion of sleeping together in that tiny space "Or" He mused "You could just tell me where those parts are, I could fix your bucket of bolts and we could be out of here" "NO!" Rey shot back instantly, there was a fire in her eyes he was grateful to see again after her ordeal, she was regaining her strength back quickly. Thankfully she had only ingested a tiny amount of the beasts poison. 

Ben took the food off the fire and handed Rey a portion as she sat in the ship. "You will start feeling better after you get something in your stomach" he soothed. Reys bright eyes connected with his as he passed her the food and he suddenly thought how this little creature was his greatest weakness, but also his greatest strength. For an instant he felt fear and the purest and most powerful rage inside him that should anything ever happen to her, He would rampage through this world on a path of utter destruction the likes of which had never been seen in the galaxy before. And then...it was gone, they were together, and Ben would do everything in his power to make sure it stayed that way.

Rey watched him as he set himself down on the pine needles cross legged looking up at her in her ship. He must have been trying to fix her ship while she had been unconscious. She had no doubts about that. Clearly that had not worked and she was so thankful for that. This brutal murderer, was sitting there, so relaxed, eating his food and glancing up at her every now and then with those big brown puppy dog eyes, flicking his long hair out of his face by twitching his head every so often. a total conundrum to her. She took a big bite of the delicious smelling roasted meat. With her mouth full she muffled out "Mmmmm...this is delicious! How did you...?" "How did I what? Prepare a simple meal? I am not as pampered as you may believe" That smirk again. Rey couldn't help but smile. He had a dry sense of humour.

Rey had grease running down her face but she really didn't care. So the Prince of the Dark Side was a good cook. It made her chuckle to herself as she stuffed down the food. Rey sensed the calmness in him, and also...happiness. Ben was happy. The way he looked at her, those were not the eyes of a captor. There was something else, the loneliness she sensed in him was gone, now there was peace and...was it affection? For a few moments she was lost deep in his eyes. The light in him flickered around the edges of his velvety darkness. A balance. She felt the need to touch him with her greasy little fingers but resisted and went back to stuffing her face and smiling stupidly at him. The food had made her feel sleepy. Her body had been through a lot and was ready for more recovery time.

"We should try and sleep, there's rain coming" Ben said looking towards the heavens. It was already dark and a mild wind was rustling the leaves in the trees around them. "We can sleep back to back, we may need the warmth tonight" He said trying to gauge her reaction to the sleeping arrangement. "Fine" Rey said drowsily. She was in no mood to argue or worry about the situation now, she just wanted to sleep her lingering headache away. In the small ship they positioned themselves back to back. Rey felt his warmth against her as he pulled up the few blankets she had in the ship over them. "Ben?" Rey asked. "Yes?" He replied without moving. "Thank you" Rey said quietly. Her voice lilted through Ben's mind as he found himself drifting away. Sleep came easy now they were together. Feeling her warmth and closeness, her gentle light bathing him in its calmness. 

Ben opened his eyes to find they had both turned in their sleep and were facing each other. Reys face was pressed against his chest and she was sound asleep curled up against him. One of her arms was around him and Ben had his arms around her, with his chin on the top of her head. The feeling of belonging engulfed him. Everything was as it should be. Neither of them alone, they had each other now. There was no way he was letting Rey go now that he had found her again. Maybe she would never love him as he loved her...he adored her in fact, and being with her now just reinforced his feelings for her. He drifted back off to sleep, feeling more wanted and contented than at any other time in his life.

Later in the night the rain was coming down so hard it woke Ben. He instantly realised Rey was not in his arms. The door of the ship was open! "Rey?" He called her name but there was no reply. She was out in the pouring rain in the middle of the night. "No!" he said in a panic "No, no!...REY!!" He yelled it out as he pulled on his boots as fast as he could and leapt out of the ship. The rain was belting down, It was pitch black and he couldn't see a thing. Bens mind reeled with possibilties, had she run from him again, no please not that he prayed. His head turned this way and that in the pouring rain, desparately trying to see through the dark. His wet hair slapped him in the eyes as he frantically tried to look around. "REY!!!" Ben bellowed in a panic. The perimeter alarm went off and he sensed her force hum coming from the direction of the lake. He crashed through the forest in the pitch black, stumbling, and tripping as he tried to run, all the while screaming her name over and over again. 

He broke out of the forest onto the lake shore, there was a little more light in the open, but the rain still made it so hard to see. He ran towards the water and as he did a shape started to form a ways in front of him. "Rey!" He bellowed and Rey turned, she was sobbing. "Ben?" she asked pitifully.  
Ben was in a state of panic and confusion. Rey started running towards him and him to her. They came together and Rey threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, his heart pounding madly in his chest. "Gods Rey! What happ..." She cut him off by kissing him. A soft kiss, that made his mind explode with confusion and emotion. She looked into his eyes again and Ben squeezed her, holding her tight against him. A split second later and his lips came crushing down on hers, his longing for her was nearly more than he could bare. His soft lips moved against her with Rey responding in kind. Letting Ben know her need for him was just as deep as his for her. The rain poured down on them and Ben pulled back from the kiss and scooped up her tiny frame. Carrying her all the way back to the camp. 

Ben climbed back into the ship with Rey in his arms. He gently placed her on the floor where they had been sleeping and sat next to her with his big arms around her. They were both soaking wet and Rey's feet where cut and bleeding from walking barefoot over the rough forest floor underbrush. "Gods Rey, what were you doing out there? Whats wrong?" He asked as he pulled his head back to look at her face. "I don't know" Rey said tearily. "I dreamed you were...that you were gone, I was so alone, and when I woke up I was at the lake in the rain." Ben smoothed the wet hair out of her face. "It must have been the toxin Rey. Giving you nightmares. You've sleepwalked out there into the rain" Ben held her face in his huge hands, and looking deep into her eyes soothed "Everythings ok Rey, I am never going to leave you!"


	9. Chapter 9

It had been an uncomfortable night. Ben and Rey were both wet through and while Rey had fallen asleep quickly due to the toxin still in her system, Ben had lain awake, holding on to her all night long lest she wander off into the night again. He replayed her kiss over and over in his head. Rey's mind had been in a haze. She may not even remember what happened. Ben berated himself for kissing her while she had been in that state. It wasn't right, even though at the time he had not been able to control himself. That physical connection with Rey, her lips, it had been...glorious. He had spent many hours that night over thinking the whole scene. 

When the rain stopped it was close to morning. Ben climbed out of the ship and looked up into the dark sky, the clouds had drifted away. The stars shone like beacons in the sky and reminded him that it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for him, but now he didn't know if he wanted to be found. Taking Rey back to the First Order was impossible. Hux was under the impression that Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was hunting for Snoke's murderer, was expecting Rey the resistance fighter to be executed. But to let Rey go and live without her light? He knew the darkness would overtake him, the suffering would destroy his soul. He would be reduced to a hate filled husk of a man without Rey. He was nothing without her.

Rey opened her eyes and sat up rubbing the sleep away like a child. The door of the ship was open and the morning had bought with it the sunshine and those sweet little birds chirping their happiness after the rain. She could smell campfire smoke and peeping around the door of the ship she saw Ben, in his trunks again. What the? Was she going to see this every morning?? Not that she was complaining, he was a magnificent specimen. She sat for a few moments remembering the dream she'd had last night, the rain, the lake, kissing Ben, and holy Tyth, him kissing her back! Rey hadn't had a dream about Ben like that before, she wondered if he really did kiss like that because wow! There were butterflies in her stomach just thinking of his soft, full, lips moving against hers with such urgency. Suddenly she yelled out "WHY THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES ALL WET??

Rey tried to pull her boots on. "OWWW!" she howled, "My feet! What the hell happened?" "You were sleepwalking" Ben said quietly without looking at her. "Sleepwalking? Wait! Did I end up at the lake?" Rey was confused. Maybe it hadn't been a dream. "You wandered off, it was the last of the toxin in your blood stream" Ben seemed evasive. "Ummm so did anything else happen?" Rey eyed him. Ben wouldn't look at her, he was checking some fish he had roasting over the fire. "You should get out of those wet clothes. These fish are ready if you want some breakfast" He seemed offhand, never turning to look at her. Rey looked at him suspiciously as she closed the door of the ship. Something wasn't right here. Maybe they HAD really kissed in the pouring rain? If so, why was he being so weird and shy about it. Had he not liked it? Rey mulled all this over as she stripped down to her under tunic. She tore some of her wrap to bandage up the cuts on her feet so she could pull on her boots, and wrapped one of the blankets around herself modestly. 

Rey climbed out of the ship in time to see Ben pulling the fish off the fire. She sat down on the ground watching him intently. She could see he was tired, and as he handed her a portion of the food he finally made eye contact. Rey looked deep into his brown eyes, sensed guilt, anxiety. She reached up and gently grabbed his wrist as he handed her the food. "Ben! What's wrong?" Ben paused for a moment, and smiled that lopsided little smile of his. Her earnest concern touched him. "It's not important" He replied softly, as he broke away and sat beside her to eat. "I'm going to hang out my clothes then go for a swim in that lake...you could...come with me?" Her little freckled nose was all screwed up as she said it. She wasn't sure what kind of answer to expect to that proposal, considering his present mood. "Well someone has to keep an eye on you" he said smirking. Rey grinned at him while she wolfed the fish down. She thought to herself that this was going to be interesting.

They made their way to the lake and Rey gingerly picked her way through the undergrowth with her sore feet. Ben had offered to carry her there but she'd shut him down with a stern NO! He smiled at that. Such independence. When they got to the shore they took their boots off and Rey unwrapped her wounded feet. He could see how enamoured she was with the clear blue abundance of water. Something she'd gone so long without as a child. Ben watched the lithe figure wade in then dive under the water, popping up a short distance away, laughing loudly. "BEN!" She laughed, "Get in here, its amazing". "Your amazing" Ben thought to himself as he waded in, never taking his eyes off her for an instant. 

Rey would laugh and splash him, then dive under the water before he could splash her back. She watched in astonishment as her silly playfulness drew a huge smile out of him, and a subdued laughter with it. She thought how beautiful his smile was. She had longed to see him like this, especially today having sensed how worried and withdrawn he had been earlier. But now here was this gorgeous, beaming man, Ben Solo, laughing and playing with her in this amazing place. His brown eyes shone with a light she had not seen before. 

Rey dived under the water yet again but this time, she didn't come back up. Ben felt the panic setting in as he started to realise there was no way she could hold her breath that long. He spun this way and that, peering into the clear waters, Rey was no where. He dived under the water trying to see her. Her force hum, he felt it, but could not see her form. He could hear his heart beating so hard in his ears under the water. He came bursting out of the water bellowing her name even though he knew it was futile to yell to someone who was under water. Suddenly there she was, splashing about and yelling at him excitedly. Ben barely heard a word she said as the relief washed over him. "Ben, there's something down there! Come with me!" She swam up and grabbed his hand. "We have to dive down, there's a cave under that rock ledge" She could have lead him anywhere at that point as he had turned to jelly, still recovering from the panic he had felt a moment before.

They both dived under the ledge and came up inside the large cave. There was some kind of natural phosphorescence in play that lit the place up. "The walls" Rey exclaimed excitedly "Look at the symbols on the walls!" Ben slowly surveyed the cave walls. The place had an eerie feel about it. Felt familiar somehow. "This place" he said softly, "Ancient". He walked slowly up to the wall, "These symbols...they're archaic force symbols, both light and dark" "Some of these are in the sacred Jedi texts, but most of them I haven't seen before" Rey said walking around the cave inspecting each symbol. Ben couldn't shake the strange feeling of wonderment at this place that had stood through the ages. He slowly raised his hand to touch the walls. 

As soon as the tips of his fingers touched the rock his mind was sucked into another time and place. Ben gasped sharply as he saw a small, ebony haired boy, sobbing out "Please...I'm here!”, the shape of a man, smiling...Han! Ben's father was looking directly at him. His eyes full of love "Come home, we miss you" he said. The words echoed in Ben's ears and tears welled in his eyes as Han reached up to touch Ben's face. Just as they were about to touch Han was gone and a maelstrom of feelings pulsed through Ben, violence and great pain, so much suffering. Ben's gut lurched and he felt he was about to vomit from the intensity of those feelings when suddenly they were gone. There was a moment of silence before he heard the sound of children's laughter. two children in this very cave. A boy and a girl, one dark one light, playing together. They emanated great love and peace. Tears rolled down Ben's cheeks feeling the powerful love eminating from these beings. He considered that these two must be the ancient force users who had used this cave. They were opposites but the same, equals in the force but different in their own unique ways. Light and Dark in equal parts. There was no conflict or fear of either the light or the dark side, these children embraced both sides. This was the ancient way of the force, Balance. A woman's muffled voice called to the children, they both turned and dove into the water...and then the vision melted away.

Ben slumped to the ground, his head in his hands. "Ben?" Rey had been engrossed in studying the symbols on the walls when she heard him drop. She ran to him and sitting down next to him put her slender arm around his shoulders. His hands dropped from his face and she saw his cheeks streaked with tears. Rey's heart ached at the sight of him looking so forlorn. "Gods Ben, tell me whats wrong, please!" She cupped his cheek in her palm and Ben looked into her dewy eyes, filled with concern and light. She was the only thing that strengthened him. The one thing that could settle that dark pool of unstable emotions inside him. Without even thinking, he slowly leaned in and kissed her, so softly, so gently, that Rey almost swooned. 

The second their lips touched, Rey knew last night had been no dream. Her cheeks flushed at how much she liked this, how desperately she wanted him. Ben stopped kissing her for a moment to look at her radiant face, drinking in every detail of her features. He smoothed back the wet tendrils of hair from her cheeks. Lifted her chin to meet his lips and kissed her again, deeper this time, more intensely. Rey slid her arms over his bare shoulders and around his neck. She could feel a deep low vibration running through her every nerve. She had been so starved of love all those years and now this, the sweetest, most intense affection she'd ever had. She felt drunk on it, wanted to binge on it, on him, this man, so vicious and yet capable of such tenderness. When he pulled back she was biting her bottom lip and grinning at him goofily. Ben laughed quietly at her silly expression and whispered "We should get out of this cave and get dry" "Uh, no! we shouldn't!" Rey said defiantly as she kissed him again, making tiny sighs against his mouth, she couldn't help it, this was pure pleasure.

Ben squeezed his eyes tightly for a second, trying to hold himself back. His mind was swimming at the majesty of this. The empty loneliness that had crippled his soul for so many years was slipping away and like a starving man he wanted to consume this girl, to squeeze her, crush her into himself and have all of her at once. The sounds her soft wet mouth were making against his lips made him feel like he was either about to pass out or go insane. And then he felt the tip of her tongue in his mouth and he pulled away from her with a gasp. It was too much, he had to exercise restraint. She was too naive to realise exactly what she was doing to him. Sitting there all wanton and wet and half naked. His heart was pounding a mile a minute as he told himself to calm down. 

"Rey, we have to go" Ben said softly. Rey stared at him, did she do something wrong? Nothing had felt wrong, in fact everything had felt very, very right. He leaned up and kissed her on the forehead, took her hand and led her to the water. "GO!" He ordered jokingly, she smiled sweetly at him and dove in. Ben paused to look at this ancient place one more time. He had always thought he had to kill the past to become who he was meant to be, erase it. Ben had tried to forget Han. But seeing him again, seeing the love in his fathers eyes, maybe...he wanted to remember. He then dove into that clear blue water, emerging in the warm sun in time to see a beautiful scavenger girl emerging from the water and walking onto the shore, and his heart leaped at the glory of her.


	10. Chapter 10

They were pulling on their dry clothes and Rey was watching Ben intently. She wondered how long it would be before he started searching for those engine parts somewhere out in the forest. She couldn't bring herself to completely trust him. The closer they became, the greater her fear that he would hurt her again. Ben was strapping up his boots while Rey started rummaging around in her ship. "Come home...we miss you" The words went round and round in his head. Killing his father had been a tragedy he had felt forced into by Snoke. And after the deed was done it was Ben that would suffer for it. The pain of it had been so deep, so soul destroying. The instant he had done it, he regretted it. A piece of Kylo Ren had also died that day. The pull to the light had always been there but at the time he had been convinced that killing Han would destroy that temptation once and for all. In fact his fathers death had pushed him further towards the light than ever before. It drifted through Ben's mind that maybe that was the lesson. As Ben was pondering the meaning of the things he had seen in the cave, a bag was unceremoniously dumped at his feet. 

"You!" Rey hissed. "When were you going to do it?" One look at the bag and Ben knew what was happening. The bag had contained the parts to fix Rey's ship. "Tonight? Were you going to fly us out of here while I was asleep?" "Rey, no..." "Liar!" Rey shot back "How could you? Just when I thought...I knew I couldn't trust you, I KNEW IT! How could you Ben?" "Rey..." "NO! Don't speak to me, leave me alone, don't come near me!" With tears in her eyes she ran into the forest. Ben was on his feet going after her. "Wait Rey!" "STAY AWAY FROM ME! DON'T FOLLOW ME!" she yelled back at him as she braved her sore feet to get away from him. "Rey stop!" he shouted, "I did it because...because I love you..." Rey stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn to face him, she was still processing what he had just said. 

Rey slowly turned around, tears streaming down her face, "I don't understand" Ben's voice was soft and low, "I repaired it yesterday" Rey's brow was furrowed in confusion "Yesterday?" "After the Vornskr attack" Ben said calmly. "But...why didn't you tell me" "Because I knew you would think I was going to take you away, but...I can't do it Rey" Rey blinked, "Then why did you..." "Fix it?" He finished her sentence for her. "If anything happened to me, I had to make sure you could get away from here quickly if you needed too" Rey's eyes widened "If anything happened to you? What do you mean?" "They are coming for me Rey, you know they are. I will have to go with them or they will be suspicious. I need you to be safe from them" Rey's stomach lurched at the thought of him leaving. "Ben! No!" She cried as she ran to him and slid her arms around his waist with her cheek pressed hard against his chest. She closed her eyes and squeezed him. Ben cradled her head in one of his big hands, his other arm wrapped tightly around her. 

"Rey..." he whispered "When they come, promise me you won't try and fight them. You have to run, you must hide from them" Rey looked up at him, his eyes were so sad, so full of emotion. Tears slowly rolled down Rey's cheeks, "I won't let you go with them Ben" Rey said stubbornly. "We can fight them together...We can run, you and I..." He took her face in his hands and whispered "No Rey, there's something...I need to do. I will come back for you sweetheart, I promise, but don't give them the chance to take you. If anything happened to you...I couldn't...Promise me Rey...Please" His sad plea made the breath hitch in her throat. His eyes, so deep and sad and beautiful. She didn't want to make such a promise but she did. "I promise" she replied softly. Ben smiled gently as he wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her so tenderly it made her want to cry all over again. The thought of losing him, of being apart from him again, it tore her soul apart. 

"The belonging you seek...it is ahead" Maz Kanata had told her. Rey had been mistaken in her belief that it was Luke Skywalker. Now she saw the truth in it. The man who did not know who he was, that was hiding behind the mask of Kylo Ren was the one she had been truly waiting for all these years, not her parents. The belonging was with Ben Solo. The force had been screaming it at her. She had been so afraid of it and yet wanted it so very badly. And now she had discovered the pleasure of him, his skin on hers, his lips, his heat...It sent a shiver down her spine thinking of it. She wanted his attention, ached for his affection. There was so much more to him than anger and violence. This frightening man that she had once wanted to kill had wrapped his soft, dark cloak of love around her, and she realised she was in love with him too.

Ben scooped her up and carried her back to camp. Rey put her head in the crook of his neck and did not protest. "Will they come soon?" Rey asked in a tiny voice while he carried her. "Its been two days since they heard from me, they will be looking for me soon" He replied softly. He put her down when they reached the camp and Rey paused for a moment thinking how different he was now. The good in him, his kindness. She took his hand and pulled him down to the ground, climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't want you to leave me Ben, I don't know what I'll do without you" Ben smiled at her, "You are strong Rey, I just want you to keep surviving like you have always done. You are all that matters to me and I will be doing everything I can to get back to you" 

Ben was gazing into Rey's eyes, grazing his knuckle across her cheek and thinking how her eyes sparkled with the purest light when she whispered, "I love you too" He didn't think he had ever heard words sweeter than those in his whole life. Something in him felt released, free. There were no shackles that could hold his mind now that he had Rey. The one person in the whole galaxy that was meant for him. All Snokes meddling had done was enforce and strengthen their bond. Nothing could destroy what he had with Rey except death. And now Ben was adamant that he would create a way that they could be together for the rest of their lives. Nothing and no one would stop him in this. When he kissed her again, so very softly and with the deepest love, his senses came alive with the smell of the trees, the wind gently passing through the tops of the trees, and the sounds of Rey's little birds singing as they looped and careened through the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how quickly I can get another chapter out as my life has just ramped up from busy to hectic haha. However I will certainly be working on it with any spare time I have. Thanks everyone for receiving the story so well. :)


	11. Chapter 11

That night as they climbed into Rey's ship. Under the pale cabin light Ben pulled Rey into his arms and kissed her languidly. Thinking all the while he would have to stop soon even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew he would reach a point where stopping would be impossible, and though he wanted to be gentle with her he couldn't guarantee he would be once the throws of passion where upon him. He wanted her so much that kissing her was a glorious torment filled with pain and danger and the greatest desire he had ever known. Greater than the Dark Side or the pull to the light. This was something pure and wonderful and meant for them only.

When he did try to pull away Rey was determined that this time she would have her way. Being here with him wrapped in his arms, finally being able to touch and taste him. She was enjoying him far too much to allow him to stop. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him towards her lips again. Sighing into his mouth as their lips touched, opening her mouth to encourage him on wards. Flicking her tongue against his to taste him. 

"Rey..." he whispered in protest. "No Ben. Please don't stop" She sighed against his lips. He pulled back and taking her face in his hands tried to explain "You don't understand Rey...I could hurt you..." Rey pressed herself against him, feeling all his bulk and hardness against her. "You are wrong Ben..." she said as she dipped her tongue into his mouth again and then allowed her open lips to brush against his as she spoke "...I do understand. I need you Ben, all of you" Ben's resolve evaporated like snow on hot coals as his lips crushed down on hers, their tongues entwined as he ground himself against her, letting her feel how hard he was for her. 

Rey moaned feeling his rock hard pressure against her sex, her want for him was overwhelming. She gasped and moaned her approval as his lips worked down her throat and his hands roughly tore at her tunic freeing her breasts for his eager mouth to devour. The sounds coming from Ben's throat were lusty and guttural, and he couldn't stop from destroying her clothing as he clawed at her body, unable to control himself. Kissing and licking her skin as he trailed down over her soft belly, like she was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He wanted all of her and nothing would escape him. She was his and he would not stop until he had conquered every part of her. He wrenched her panties down and felt his bottom lip quivering in anticipation of the gloriousness he was about to feast on.

Ben could feel Rey's legs shaking as he wrapped his big hands around her thighs and kissed her mound tenderly. Rey's little gasps and sighs were like sweet music to his ears and his mind swam with the sensations that he was feeling, the taste of her on his lips, her warmth, her incredible softness against his mouth. He smiled to himself at how wet he had made her, as his tongue trailed from her clit to down over her wet, inviting slit and back up again. He circled her clit with his tongue before dipping in to her, growling like a beast as he devoured her. Rey was arching her back and moaning, her hands fisted in his thick black hair as though she were hanging on for dear life. "Oh yes Ben" she kept breathing. 

The feel of his warm soft lips against her most intimate self was driving Rey crazy, the things he was doing to her she had never dreamed could feel so amazingly good. She could feel the heat pooling low down in her belly as she was close to climax. This all encompassing dark angel was in her very soul, drinking her down until there was nothing left of her. When she came it left her breathless, she bit her lip as her back arched and she jerked and spasmed against his mouth, her tongue skimmed over her lips at the deliciousness of it. 

Suddenly he was on his knees, wrenching off his clothing like they were on fire, before covering her small frame and lavishing her mouth with his soft wet lips, as she gasped with the last of her orgasm. She ran her hands over his nakedness. Feeling all of the hard thick muscle in his shoulders and chest, the sinew of his wide neck. He was kissing and sucking her mouth, her throat, her breasts as he slid a long finger into her wetness. Rey sucked in air as he slid into her and began to work in and out. Rey could feel his hard thick cock against her thighs, her belly. She touched it with her finger tips, running them up and down, feeling its hardness, its length, the bumps and veins as it bobbed and jerked under her touch. "Give me everything..." she breathed, moaning as his finger worked inside her.

Ben removed his finger and positioned himself against her entrance that was slick with her juices. Nudging her wet lips open with his smooth head, pushing a little deeper every second as her wetness coated him. Rey was moaning, her head back, eyes closed, "Yes Ben, yes!" She encouraged. He needed no encouragement. Once the head was inside her and he began that slide into her he could not stop. Rey began to wince and cry out with the pain but there was no holding him back now as his thickness tore deep into her and he groaned loudly. There he was able to stop for a moment, his hand on the top of her head, panting and rasping in her ear, "Rey...are you ok?" The brief pause gave Rey a moment to collect herself. There was pain but it was not unbearable and she did not want him to stop for any reason. She kissed his cheek, "Yes!" 

Ben tried to go slow but in the end it was as he had foreseen. He could not hold back now that he was inside her. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and lost himself in the rhythm. Groaning with every thrust and being egged on by Rey's lusty gasps and painful whimpers. The way she called his name made him want to fill her harder and faster. When he reached his thundering climax he bit into her shoulder as he moaned and grunted loudly. Rey squealed as he bit her, Holding onto him tightly, her face buried in the thick hair above his ear. They clung to each other as they panted their relief, coated in a sheen of sweat. 

Ben eventually rolled on to his side, propped up on one elbow, his eyes roaming her form. One hand gently running over her belly, her ribs. Rey giggled, and bought her arm up to cover her breasts, suddenly feeling very exposed. "No" Ben whispered, pulling her hand away. "You never need to hide from me" She scooted closer to him, her head against his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her slowly and softly, his heart soaring at this perfect thing that had come into his life. This goddess of the sands. The emptiness he had felt his whole life, the sense of not belonging, of not being able to please anyone, the deep unending loneliness, it was all gone. He now knew what he had to do and it would be for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm finally settled for the time being and I didn't want to rush this chapter. I wanted to consider it well as it had to be special. I hope you enjoy it.


	12. Chapter 12

When the birdsong rose with the morning, Ben woke to find himself naked and alone in the small ship. Climbing out he could see Rey, dressed and roasting fish over the fire. He smiled as he caught her eye, stretching and flexing his muscles, then yawning widely. She sidled up to him shyly as he took her chin in his thumb and forefinger. Tilting her head up to meet his, he kissed her softly. 

Rey blushed wildly, Ben was standing there stark naked and completely unashamed. Rey had one hand on his chest and one on his lower back as they kissed. He who had been completely covered from head to toe when they first met was now utterly exposed to her, both outside and within. She could feel the hum of the force vibrating through them both and was touching on the contentment she could feel within him through the bond. It was entwined with her own. He was still a dark shadow at his core in the force, but now there was a second layer that shone brightly with light and hope and love. He who had been fractured and tortured was now whole. Shining brightly with both sides of the force equally. 

Ben pulled on his black trunks and Rey handed him some breakfast. "Not as good as yours I'm afraid, but it'll do" she grinned as she sat next to him on the sweet smelling pine needles to eat. Rey kept glancing at him, smiling shyly. Her cheeks rosy thinking of everything they had done the night before. Ben was smirking away as though he was thinking the same thing, except there was no shyness, just an eager, hungry look in his eye as though he couldn't wait for more of the same. 

Once they had eaten Ben suggested they go wash in the lake. Pulling on his boots Rey considered what a delicious sight he was in black trunks, big black boots and nothing else. Every time he moved another set of muscles bulged and strained and she could feel him in her very blood, flowing through her endlessly. 

He took her hand and looked at her torn clothing. "You look like you've been attacked by another Vornkr" he smirked. "I think I was" Rey laughed, cheeks bright red. Ben lead her to the shore of the lake. Standing on the white sands she began to disrobe as Ben removed his boots and trunks. "Stop!" he said moving to stand in front of her. "Let me do it" he soothed. He leaned in and kissed her and in a complete parallel to the night before he gently removed every item of clothing, stripping her down until she was completely naked in the morning sunshine. 

Once again Rey felt vulnerable and shy in this state, covering her most intimate parts with her arms and hands. He kissed her again as he took her hands in his, pulling them away from her body. He trailed kisses from her lips down her neck and whispered against her throat, "Don't be ashamed Rey, you...are perfect!" Rey felt tears brimming in her eyes, never had she known such deep, overwhelming love. All that time spent alone, thinking he would kill her, never did she think they would end up so deeply in love, the strength of their union felt unbreakable. 

Ben had straightened up and was staring down at her smiling. These tears were not the result of pain and fear. They were tears of joy, and his heart felt so full of love for her. So intense, like nothing he had ever felt before, he almost broke down himself. This feeling of being together as one, it was worth so much more than power and glory. It was right, it was meant to be, and he had never been this gloriously happy. 

All those times that Ben had raged over Rey leaving him, blaming her for hurting him just as everyone before her had hurt him in the past. The way he had lashed out in pain and bitterness. He now realised he had just been raging at himself for not allowing her to be with him on equal grounds. He was responsible for ruining his chance to find his place with his equal in the force and finally tasting the happiness he had yearned for all these years. But here in this place, they were equals. He was not the Supreme Leader Kylo Ren here, he was Ben Solo, at one with the force and the girl that meant the most to him in the whole galaxy. 

Now he wanted to never leave this forest moon. The thought of staying here with Rey, for the rest of his life filled him with such happiness. And yet he knew the time was fast approaching when he would have to leave her, if only for a short time. He quickly put it out of his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on that. Ben lead her by the hand into the cool clear waters, they both dove under the water and as they burst through its surface into the sunlight Rey splashed him, laughing loudly. Ben growled playfully before lunging for her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him, hand under her jaw, kissing her deeply. 

Rey pulled back, her eyes full of mischief, "Lets go to the cave" before he could even reply she dove down, yanking his hand behind her. Coming up inside the cave, Ben once again felt the wonderment, the familiarity of this place. There was something beautiful about this strange cave. It was certainly a place of balance in the force. Projecting the hum of the dark side and light side equally. Rey pulled him up to the big altar like stone in the middle of the cave. "Get up!" she ordered, grinning, as she pointed to the stone. He had only just sat down when a wet, slippery Rey climbed onto his lap, straddling him. Grinning cheekily. Now he understood why she wanted to come down here. 

The way her skin glowed under the eerie blue phosphorescence of the cave made her look otherworldly. Arms wrapped around his neck, pressing her nakedness against his. Sighing into his hair as she breathed in his scent. It was enough to send any man insane he thought. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and kissed along her collar bones down to her heaving chest. 

Rey pulled his head back by yanking his hair suddenly, kissing him urgently and grinding her sex against his hardness. "Rey" he rasped between kisses "You will still be tender..." "Shush!" she scolded as she positioned herself over his tip and slowly lowered herself down on him making him gasp loudly and moan deep in his throat. She had whimpered a little as she had sunk down onto him but once she was all the way down she stopped and allowed herself to get used to his length and thickness. 

"Don't move!" Rey instructed, "let me do it" she breathed. Ben immediately understood her meaning. She wanted to control the movement to minimise her discomfort. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip then kissed him deeply. Wrapping her arms around his head and threading her fingers through his wet hair she slowly began to move. Rey found in this position she could press and rub herself up against him as well as slowly ride him. There was a little soreness but it was worth it to feel him inside her again. She could feel the force buzzing through them both, the intimate connection making the force bond seem so much more powerful. 

His big hands roamed her back as he lavished kisses on her wet skin. He felt like he was drunk on her, that he was on some other plane of existence as this ethereal creature blessed him with her incredible softness and affection. Rey was perfection in Ben's eyes. Everything she did was a gift to his senses. Rey felt powerful hearing Ben sigh and moan as she slid up and down his length. She was doing this to him, making him feel this way. She moved excruciatingly slowly making him jerk and bob inside her and every sound that escaped his lips pushed her excitement to new levels. 

It wasn't long before Rey was reaching her peak, she clung hard to Ben, making soft little sighs and whimpers into his hair as her orgasm jolted through her with wave after wave of pleasure. Ben whispered against her throat "Oh gods Rey" lifting her a little so he could thrust into her a couple of times before he came deep inside her. Groaning loudly as he filled her with his seed.

They hugged each other panting for a short while before Ben pulled back to look at her. Her pretty eyes were half closed and she had a lazy smile on her soft lips. Her skin aglow with the phosphorescence and with her hair wet like this he didn't think he had ever seen her looking more beautiful. She peppered little kisses over his nose and cheeks and whispered in his ear "I love you Ben" His heart swelled and he knew he would never get sick of hearing those words from her. He squeezed her tight, not wanting to ever let her go. "Gods Rey, I love you too, more than I can ever tell you"


	13. Chapter 13

Back at the camp Ben and Rey had pulled on their clothes. Rey strolled over to Ben. Looking down as she kicked the dirt nonchalantly. "Sooo...where'd ya learn to kiss like that Solo?" He glanced up at her, his face was dead pan, "Natural talent?" he said as he broke into a lopsided grin. Rey laughed, she was seeing more and more of his father coming out in him and she liked that. "Saw some berries over that way" he motioned. "Wanna help me pick them?" "Do I ever. That sounds fantastic!" Rey said sarcastically. "You want me to carry you? Your feet are still--" "No! Of course not!" she snapped, but along the way Rey complained, more so for Ben's attention than over her feet, and Ben ended up demanding she jump on his back. "Just get up here and stop the whining!" he barked jokingly. Like a naughty child she frowned and obediently jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. A wide grin came over her as she whispered into his ear, "So Solo--" Before she could continue he stopped, and looking over his shoulder with a bemused expression asked, "Whats with the 'Solo'?" "Felt like it...Solo," She smirked. Ben shook his head. Rey was in fine form. 

They got to the berries and started picking, at least, Ben picked them. Rey ate them and threw them at Ben. "Watch it fly girl!" He joked as he tried to dodge her attacks. "Psh! So says the Supreme Leader!" She waved her hands in the air as she said it, mocking him. "Ok, ok, that'll do," he said in a low tone. "Oh yeah?" Rey goaded him, "Whatcha gonna do about it Soooloooo?" She drew the name out sarcastically. In an instant Ben had dropped everything and growling like a beast, launched at her. Rey was laughing hysterically as he leapt on top her, pinning her to the ground. "You really thought it'd be that easy?" She grinned as she pulled her knee up between his legs. There was no actual contact but it startled him enough that he loosened his grip and she flipped him over, straddling him and holding his wrists down in the grass.

"You see? I win," she puffed, as she leaned down to kiss him. "No" He grinned, "I win." She lay on top of him and pushed her fingers into his thick hair, holding his head while she worked his lips with her own. As usual Ben's mind swam with the sensation of her. Her body moving on top of him, fingers running through his hair. Those little sounds of pleasure she was making against his mouth that made him crazy. For once in his life he felt lucky and so very privileged to have her love. He wrapped his long arms around her waist. Squeezing her hard against him. Suddenly he rolled her over so he was on top, looking down at her. "You've been such a bad girl, I think I need to punish you," He growled. "Shut up and kiss me Solo!" she breathed, smiling so sweetly that Ben Solo came undone, his lips crushing down on hers. She sighed her approval as he kissed down her throat and between her breasts, taking his time, her skin so soft against his lips. 

Suddenly Ben sat bolt upright! Looking towards the sky he said calmly "Run Rey." Rey's mind was in a haze, "What?" "RUN!!" He bellowed. "THEY'RE HERE!" Rey forgot all about the cuts on her feet as they took off running. Ben was yelling with urgency "GET TO THE CAVE AND STAY THERE UNTIL THEY'RE GONE!" They ran full pelt to the lake. Ben grabbed Rey's arm as she was about to run into the lake, jerking her towards him. "I'll come back for you sweetheart" Rey's eyes widened. The words she had heard in her dreams. "What are you going to do Ben?" Rey's eyes were pleading for any kind of answer. "No time" he breathed as he kissed her quickly, then yelled "RUN REY! GO!" Rey dove under the water and headed to the cave. Within a few minutes a first order shuttle had landed. The gang plank opened and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren stalked onto the ship. Then as quickly as the vessel had arrived, it was gone.

Rey could feel Ben's hum fading in the force, and then he was gone. Ben was gone! Rey had thought maybe it wouldn't be so hard to be apart, now that they were together. She was wrong! It felt like an open wound in her body. An empty, lonely black hole where he had once been and now was so far away from her. Her gut ached and although she told herself she would not cry when he left, the tears rolled down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around herself and rocked on the altar stone inside the cave. Pulling herself together she closed her eyes tightly and reached out..."Ben" she whispered, and then she felt a very faint force signature. Her eyes snapped open "BEN!" 

Kylo Ren sat in the shuttle thinking. First, as Supreme Leader, he would order a stop to the production and purchase of all weapons and hardware for the first order. Then he would dispatch Hux and every commanding officer he could find. Leaving no leader for the troops and no new hardware and ammo coming into the first order. There would be disarray and anarchy. Then he would need to deal with the Knights of Ren. That would be tricky. He knew if Rey were with him that would be a lot easier. They had a synchronicity in everything including fighting together. However, at present the Knights of Ren were scattered across the galaxy so he knew he had a reprieve on that particular problem for the time being. They would however eventually need to be taken care of as any one one of them could try and take over the role of Supreme Leader, breathing new life into the First Order. 

Kylo wasn't doing this for the resistance, he was doing this for Rey, and frankly he didn't care about either the rebels or the First Order now. It was all about Rey and if he had to die to get this done, then so be it. He would do it for her. Rey! He Felt her reaching out for him through the force. Her signature touched him and then was gone. He had promised her he would never leave her, and now he had done just that. Leaving her had been the hardest thing he had ever had to do. It crushed his soul to be apart from her, but he had to disable the first order alone and as Supreme Leader he was in a prime position to do just that. Rey's biggest fear was for her friends in the resistance. Kylo had no feelings about them aside from disdain. But this was for Rey, and if it worked, also for himself. They could be together without being hunted. He felt strong and in control and he knew why. He had Rey. Her love and acceptance was all that mattered to him. The galaxy could burn for all he cared but he needed to make sure that at the end of it all they would be safe and together, or failing that, that Rey would be safe and live on even if he did not.

As Kylo disembarked the shuttle on board the Imperial Star ship, Hux was waiting for him. "Welcome back Supreme Leader!" Hux scowled. Just having to call Ren Supreme Leader made him livid. He was however happy that Ren was here. Hux had been planning his next move ever since Ren had gone on his personal mission to find that girl. Ren's strange obsession had played straight into Hux's hands. It gave Hux the time he needed to set up his plan. He would soon be rid of this poisonous insect and it made him smile. Hux was careful to guard his thoughts from Ren. He had learned from dealing with this volatile psychopath in the past. 

"I will be in my quarters, do not disturb me!" Kylo hissed at Hux dismissively. The first part of his plan was easily completed when he sent out the orders to halt the building and acquisition of the first orders hardware. Kylo exited his quarters bent on executing the second phase of his plan. As soon as the door to his quarters slid open he saw Hux and a group of storm troopers waiting some distance down the corridor. Instantly Kylo knew something was amiss. He heard Hux say "Now!" and was able to flick the whole group of them backwards with the force, before two thick steel doors came down and trapped him in the small space between his quarters and the corridor. 

Hux hauled himself to his feet as did the storm troopers. They could hear Ren thrashing around inside the small area. Hux was anxious. "Hurry, freeze him!" There was a loud roar of machinery and then silence. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was now encased in carbonite. As his father had been before him. Hux needed him alive but immobilised for the show trial he intended on conducting. Everything was going according to his plans now that dangerous idiot Ren was out of the way. The rest would be simple. 

When the steel doors opened on the carbonite freezing unit Hux had cleverly installed outside Rens chambers, all that was seen was a large rounded mass. Like a cocoon, where Kylo had thrown his cape over his head and hunched down trying to escape the freeze but having no where to go. "Life signs are good General!" one of the troopers reported. "Oh well, you can't have everything" Hux quipped, smirking. This was a momentous day he thought to himself.


	14. Chapter 14

Rey sat by the fire, thinking over the last week. So much had happened. She felt so alone out here now but at least she was filled with hope. It was certainly more than she had when she had first arrived on this forest moon. She smiled to herself when she thought of Ben's sweet face, and smirked when she thought of the rest of him. Whatever he was doing he had been determined to do it alone, but she hated not being able to go to him, not being able to help him with whatever he had planned. She waited with anticipation for the force bond to activate, and was disappointed when nothing happened. The strange thing was that when she closed her eyes and reached out to Ben. He was not there. He was not anywhere, there was no force signature, nothing. 

Rey went to sleep in her little ship that night and her dreams were so disjointed, worrying. Ben called out to her. His voice so weak. The words would evaporate before she even had a chance to hear what they had been. All she could make out was "Rey..." When she woke the next morning she comforted herself by putting it down to missing him desperately, it was only a dream after all. She closed her eyes and reached out to him, and there was nothing. Rey was starting to feel anxious, why could she not feel him? 

Hux was ready to begin the show trial of Kylo Ren. The body encased in carbonite was presented at a great rally of the First Order as Hux screamed, "I present to you all a prime example of a TRAITOR to the first order!" Hux was in his element. "The traitor you see before you has been working with the resistance and is responsible for trying to destroy the First Order. The traitor Kylo Ren murdered the Supreme Leader in cold blood and presumed to take the position for himself when he was not worthy or capable of such an honour. I have proof this scum is the murderer of our Supreme Leader, that he conspired to kill the praetorian guard with the help of another rebel, and that even on his arrival on this base, he immediately halted all munitions and hardware bound for the first order!" 

Hux was so pleased that he had installed the recording devices in the Supreme Leaders throne room. It had worked out perfectly as he played for the throng a short clip of Ren standing before Snoke as he was murdered then fighting alongside a member of the resistance. The whole thing had gone seamlessly. Hux had defeated Ren, and he felt so pleased with himself that his plan had gone so smoothly. This was his time, and he knew it. "The only punishment for such crimes can be death! The traitor will meet his eternal damnation for his crimes in the lava pits of MUSTAFA!" The crowd roared their approval. 

"I shall henceforth assume the position of Supreme Leader, and the First Order will DOMINATE UNDER MY CAREFUL LEADERSHIP!" The crowd went wild. Hux had done it. Ejected the usurper who thought he could waltz in and take the army Hux had trained from him. And now he was the Supreme Leader of the First Order. This was a glorious day! He gave orders to inform the Knights of Ren their leader was dead and they must return immediately for further instructions. Hux now intended using Ren's private army as his own praetorian guard. It was perfect!

The body encased in carbonite was loaded onto a shuttle ready to send to its oblivion on Mustafa. Kylo Rens mind was awake but only on a subconscious level. Dreams mixed with reality. It was a smokey, haze filled world of shimmering images that made no sense. Except the image of Rey, it was the one thing Ren's mind could latch onto. He tried to call to her. "Rey, Where are you?" more twisted images presented themselves, "I am lost, I do not know....where I am. Rey! Where are you?" In his right mind he would never have called to her to come to such danger, but his subconscious mind, it worked on basic instinct. It called to his saviour, the one who loved him and had saved his soul, the only one who he trusted and the only one who would actually come for him. 

Rey was back in the cave studying the ancient symbols when she got the strangest feeling, something called to her, clawed at her soul. She had a sudden urge to touch the rock walls of the cave. Slowly she raised her hand to touch the wall. Her finger tips grazed the rock and she was jolted to another time and place. She was suddenly falling, faster and faster when she was jerked back up by a large powerful hand in a black glove. It held her up by one arm as she saw all beneath her drop away to nothing, an empty blackness. She looked up and saw silent stars above her and then his face! Ben! Her eyes filled with tears. He just watched her, no expression on his face. His eyes seemed black and dead. There was a whisper as everything started to spin "I am lost..." "Ben?" she asked as her heart pounded faster than it had ever beat before, "BEN!" she screamed at him. Pain and fear coursed through her and suddenly she was on her hands and knees on the floor of the cave trying to catch her breath. 

Something was very wrong, Rey was sure of it now. No more waiting! She felt fierce and strong. Ben needed her and she would find him, would save him from whatever was happening to him. She would not lose him now, after all that had happened. Her tiny ship tore through hyperspace as she made a beeline to the resistance base. She could get information and help there and she would see Finn again, and that gave her a certain amount of joy and even more hope. 

At the resistance base Rey raced to see Leia first of all. "Your son has turned to the light!" She announced to Leia. Leia stared at Rey, "How do you know this?" "Because I have been with him this last week...and he..." "With him?" what does that mean? You saw him? Spoke to him?" Leia asked curiously. Rey suddenly blushed like a schoolgirl and averted Leia's sharp eyed gaze. "I mean he has...changed. He is not...he is Ben Solo!" She looked at Leia as she said his name and tears welled in her eyes. Leia put her arms around Rey, "I knew there was still light in him, but are you sure. My son has been terribly conflicted, brutally torn to pieces by the dark side. Are you SURE?" "Yes!" Rey sobbed on Leia's shoulder. "He is no longer Kylo Ren, he is Ben! Your son! and I..." She trailed away. Leia pulled back to look at Rey's face, "What happened exactly?" she asked. "Well...it's hard to explain." Leia smiled a knowing smile, she was not a stupid woman by any means. 

"Where is he?" Leia asked. "He's...in trouble, I've come to get help." Leia could feel Rey's desperation, "What has happened to him?" Rey found it hard to explain, "I....I'm not sure, I felt his pain, his confusion, through the force, and I know...I have to go to him." Leia smiled a mothers smile, "Take what you need and bring my son home to me...and to you." Rey wiped her eyes and thanked Leia, then at a rate of knots took off to find Finn. Leia smiled as she heard a voice behind her, "I told you Leia." She turned to see the ghostly apparition of her twin. "Yes, you did." She said as she sat beside him. Luke smiled, "I knew that I could not be the one to turn him, I hurt him far too much for that to be possible but Rey still believed in him when we had all lost hope. Ben had to learn from his mistakes, and now...he has learned!" "My son," Leia sighed, "Will he come home?" "Yes" Luke replied taking Leia's hand, "But we must be patient. We have all wronged each other, failed each other. We must let him come to us of his own free will and all will be as it was meant to be." 

"FINN!" Rey near screamed when she saw him. "Oh God's! Rey!" He breathed a sigh of relief as she flew into his arms and hugged him tightly. He had worried about her so much over the last 3 months, "What happened? How come you are here? What about Kylo Ren? Did you kill him?" "What? No! But I need help to rescue someone from the first order," Rey explained. "Rescue? Well I'm your man then!" Finn enthused. Rey tried to dissuade him, "No Finn, not you. It wouldn't be...I can't ask you, of all people." "Of course you can! I'm in!" Finn persisted. "No Finn you don't understand, this...isn't something you will want to do, trust me." Rey said honestly. "But I do! Of course I do, lets do this. Lets rescue them! Who is it we are rescuing?" Rey hugged him again "I can see you are not going to take no as an answer. All I can say is the one we are rescuing...means more to me than anyone else in the galaxy." Finn pulled back and stared at Rey "You have a boyfriend?" He smirked "What the hell did you get up to out there?" They both started laughing. Their lives had changed so much from the time they had first met, but they had remained loyal friends. Although Rey felt as guilty as hell about not telling Finn about Ben, she was absolutely thrilled that he would be there to help her.


	15. Chapter 15

Rey smiled widely at Chewie in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon. It felt so good to be back in the old scrap heap. Han's presence still filled the place even though he was gone. Rey had a long, deep discussion with Chewie earlier. Explaining the situation fully. At first Chewie had been upset. Rescue Han's murderer? No way in hell. But Rey was able to convince Chewie that Ben, the boy that he had once known so well was now Ben the man. He had been pushed down and hidden from view by Snoke. But now Snoke was gone and there was nothing left of the persona of Kylo Ren, the evil dark side user that had hurt so many people. Chewie loved Rey, and half the reason he relented was because she had told him she was in love with Ben Solo and would do anything for him. And if Rey felt that kind of love for Ben, then there had to be a lot of good still in him after all. 

The resistance had received information that Hux was now the Supreme Leader and an important prisoner was frozen in carbonite and would be shipped to Mustafa for execution. Putting two and two together Rey deduced it was Ben. Why else had there been no force bond contact, the vision in the cave, his face did not show emotion because he was frozen. "I am lost..." His dreams had been reaching out to her through the force.

Rey had decided on the small party of just Chewie, Finn, and herself for the mission. The shuttle taking Ben to Mustafa wasn't big enough to hold more than a small garrison of storm troopers and Rey had no doubts she could easily take them down. The shuttle would not be expecting an attack as who in the galaxy would be trying to save the evil Kylo Ren? Rey set a course to intercept the ship carrying Ben's frozen body. Finn was pumped! "Can't wait to meet this man of yours!" Chewie looked at him strangely. Rey shot Chewie a 'Don't you dare say anything' look, as she said, "He's frozen in carbonite so there wont be much to meet." "Who the hell is this guy that they froze him in carbonite?" Finn asked. Rey didn't answer, it was going to be so hard to explain to him that she was in love with the man that had tried to kill him, besides, Finn would know the truth soon enough. 

The Falcon came upon the small transport and locked onto it with the tractor beam. "Let me go first and stay behind me" Rey told Finn. "Chewie! be ready to roll as soon as we are back on board" Rey ignited her light saber as Finn stood behind. "Still got that thing?" He asked. "Yeah!" She smiled. "Check this out!" and she ignited the second half. "KRIFF!" Finn said excitedly, "Now that's a lightsaber! Beats hell outta that one of Kylo Ren's that's for sure!" Rey's cheeks flushed, feeling incredibly guilty keeping Finn in the dark about the rescue, but now was not the time to debate it. 

The airlock door hissed open and Rey stormed ahead. Finn noticed how focused she was, how energised. She was deadly serious, deliberate. She stormed the ship and much like Vader she bounced laser shots off her saber, slashing at troopers with gusto in a style that resembled Kylo Ren's. As they came for her she threw them every which way with the force. Pulling them towards her then throwing them back, many being knocked unconscious with the force of the blows. Finn walked behind in shock. Rey was so powerful. Her face so determined. She screamed and roared at the troopers that tried to get in her way as she hacked at them like someone chopping wood. Nothing stood in her way. Whoever this guy was they were saving, Finn could see Rey cared a hell of a lot about, judging by the way she was so driven to save him.

Rey felt the dark side strong within her. She was beginning to understand the importance of balance. She had never been afraid of the dark side, and she was still light side at her core but she found she could draw on the dark side when it was necessary. She couldn't see the point of blocking something that was part of her. Why not embrace it when needed and treat the force with the balance and respect it deserved. And now she needed it. Because come hell or high water she was getting Ben out of there today, and nothing would stop her!

Rey smashed her way into the hold where the large carbonite slab was being held. Finn looked at the large figure hunched over. It was wrapped in some kind of material, frozen solid. "Help me move him," Rey said as she got on one side. "Why is this guy so huge? Is he a Wookie? Your going out with a Wookie? Finn asked. Rey laughed, "Yeah, he's a wookie." They manoeuvred the heavy slab onto the falcon as fast as they could and slammed the airlock shut. Breaking away they took off at hyper speed and headed towards the forest moon. "Why there? Why don't we just go back to the base?" Finn puzzled. 

"Because its too soon for him to go back there, and I don't want to force him into anything." Finn looked at Rey suspiciously as she deactivated the carbonite block. The frozen body began to groan and move. Rey pulled back the black cloak and Finn's fears were fully realised. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??" Finn shouted in disbelief. Rey looked up at him apologetically, "Sorry" she grimaced. Ben sat up, his back against the wall, shaking. 

"Ben!" Rey exclaimed. "R..Rey?" Ben stammered out, trying to peer through his hazy eyes. Finn watched in dismay as Rey threw her arms around the monsters neck and cried tears of happiness. Finn saw the long black arms slowly encircle Rey's waist and squeeze her tightly. His mind reeled. "What the hell was going on here?" He looked over at Chewie. "You could have told me!!" he said flabbergasted. Chewie just moaned loudly. Rey brushed the thick black hair out of Ben's eyes and kissed his face. "I don't believe this!" said Finn, incredulous. "Your telling me this is your boyfriend?? This...monster? He tried to kill you!...and me!" 

Rey looked up at Finn, "You don't understand--" "No I don't," Finn said, cutting her off. "He is evil! You would be better off with a Wookie!" Chewie moaned his disapproval loudly at Finn's Wookie remark. "No," Rey said, "he truly isn't. He's Ben, Ben Solo. And I love him...more than anything!" Finn watched her turn back to Ben and dot his face with kisses as she looked at him concernedly. Finn decided to stop arguing the point. Rey was telling Ben that luckily he had not been frozen long, the effects would wear off soon. Finn could hear the deep voice getting stronger and murmuring something in Rey's ear that he could not make out. Whatever it was made Rey cry and hug him even harder. 

"Finn, can you help me get him to a bed?" Finn looked horrified for a moment, but against his better judgement gave in to her request. Helping her get the massive beast to his feet, then with one thick arm draped over his shoulders, and one over Rey's, they walked him to a bed. Where he flopped down on his back, still shaking but less now than before. Rey threw blankets over him, and kissed his forehead before racing off to help Chewie fly the falcon. Finn stood and watched all this and saw the faint smile on the lips of Kylo Ren as she had kissed him, his hand brushing her cheek. This was the craziest stuff he had ever seen. Poe would be amazed, and outraged! "Send General Leia the message Chewie, that we have the prisoner concerned, and all is well!" Rey beamed as she said it, hardly able to contain her happiness. The gaping hole inside her was filled. She had Ben back and everything was wonderful! 

As they landed on the white sands next to the lake on the forest moon, Finn heard a deep voice, "Where are we?" He turned to see the towering figure of Kylo Ren behind him, holding himself steady with his hand on the arch. Clearly still recovering. "Ben!" Rey exclaimed as she leapt up and ran to him, her arms slipping around his waist. "You need to go back to bed, let the effects wear off." Finn watched Kylo's hand come up to Rey's throat and Finn gulped, ready to throw himself at the pure evil in front of him to save his friend. Kylo's fingers tenderly traced Rey's jaw as he kissed her. Finn stood with his mouth agape. He must be dreaming this whole thing. He must still be unconscious in the bacta suit after Starkiller Base. None of this could be real. Rey in love with Kylo Ren and him in love with her? No, this was definitely some kind of sick dream.


	16. Chapter 16

Rey started to help Kylo back to bed down the corridor. Finn came after them to check on Rey when she took too long to return. Just because Rey trusted Ren, it didn't mean Finn had to trust him too. Rounding the bend in the corridor he was confronted with the sight of Kylo and Rey, standing in the middle of the corridor, kissing deeply. "YUCK!" Finn exclaimed loudly, as Rey blushed rosy red and Kylo smiled groggily, kissing her forehead. "Let the man breath Rey!" Finn found himself joking. Finn helped her get Ben back to bed. "Help me get his clothes off," Rey pleaded. Finn stared at her. "You think I want to see him naked? uh uh, no, your on your own girl." "Please Finn! He's so big." Finn let out a deep sigh, rolling his eyes, "Fine!" Never did he think he would one day be undressing Kylo Ren.

Once they got Ben down to his trunks and tank, Rey covered him up. He had fallen asleep, and Finn watched Rey looking at his face lovingly, brushing her fingers through his hair, and kissing him tenderly while he slept. She was clearly besotted with him. Why Finn did not know, but there had to be more to it. Rey was too pure of heart to love someone who was undeserving. Finn realised he had to trust in Rey's decision. No matter how strange it seemed.

Rey returned to the cockpit to find Finn about to head out and explore the shore of the lake. "Want some company?" She grinned sheepishly "Yeah, course I do," Finn smiled. As they walked down the gang plank they saw Chewie fishing in the lake. "I don't expect you to like him," Rey said earnestly. "That's good because I can't see myself ever liking the man," Finn said honestly, "How did it happen? I mean...how did you and him...?" Rey struggled to explain it, "Well...there was always...something...between us, and I don't know, it just happened. He and I...we are bound together through the force and well, it's tricky." "Pretty straight forward actually," Finn said, "You love him, and he...does he love you?" Rey looked Finn in the eye and said quietly, "Yes." "So that's it then. Whats the plan now?" Finn asked.

"Ben needs a day to recover. If we can stay here a few days until he's well then he can decide what he wants to do next." "Why let him decide?" Finn asked. "Because its important. Its important to me that he decides for himself if he wants to have anything to do with the resistance. If he wants to see Leia. I won't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. He's too important to me, and I won't risk losing him again." Finn smiled at Rey and in his mind he imagined the shock waves that would reverberate through the base if the ex Supreme Leader of the First Order walked through their doors.

Chewie had been having a ball catching fish and as the suns set he had lit a fire and was happily cooking up his catch. A dark figure appeared and said in a deep voice "Chewie!" For a split second Chewie thought it sounded like Han and his heart skipped a beat until he looked and saw Kylo Ren standing there. He wailed painfully. Expressing his disgust at Ben. "I know Chewie," Ben said sadly, "I made a terrible mistake." Chewie groaned loudly. "I loved him, I truly did." Chewie looked at Ben and made little wails and moans. He saw the eyes of the little boy he had loved and had spent so much time with as a child. The eyes of the little boy who idolised his father and wanted to be the best pilot in the galaxy just like Han. Those were not the eyes of the evil Kylo Ren. 

Chewie had been the one to object to Ben being sent off to be trained by Luke. After the Jedi Temple tragedy, time and again Chewie had urged Han to try and find Ben, to bring the boy home. But Han had thought he had lost the love of his cherish son, that he had been turned to the dark-side and was lost like Vader. Han didn't want to make matters worse by confronting Ben and making Ben hate him even more. Besides, Han found the force hard to understand, the light and the dark, what did it really all mean? Han had felt powerless to fight something his own son was so gifted with. 

Ben continued, "I have no excuses, and nothing will bring Han back. I don't blame you for hating me." Chewie wailed, explaining that no, he could not forgive him for Hans death, but he understood the dark side could be a terrible, all consuming thing, that he had never stopped loving that little boy Ben Solo, and had waited patiently all these years for that boy to come home. 

Finn and Rey had walked some way and they could see the fire from a distance. As they neared the fire Rey realised there were two figures sitting by it. Chewie was clearly talking away, and the other was nodding his head in understanding at the wookies enthusiastic conversation. "Ben?" Rey asked in surprise. He was fully clothed in his black garb, sitting next to the wookie. As she came closer Ben held out his hand to her, and as she took it he pulled her into his lap. He clearly did not care who saw his displays of affection towards her, if anything he was proud of it.

"Rey," he said softly, looking into her eyes with a look of wonder Finn had not seen in those dark eyes before. Chewie served up the fish and they all had a good feed before Rey was up and pulling Ben to his feet. Leading him into the ship, grinning as she gave Finn a little wave. Finn felt uncomfortable. It was obvious what was going to happen now and there was no way he was getting back in that ship for some time. In fact he considered sleeping on the sand. Chewie wailed. "Whatever you just said, I agree," Finn joked.

The door hissed shut to their quarters, and Rey stood in front of Ben. He looked down at her with such love in his brown eyes. He could hardly believe his beautiful scavenger girl had risked her own life just to save him. The fact that she had, made him feel so loved, and so wanted. The voice of the sad, lost, little boy inside him had finally been heard, Rey had heard him, had found him, had saved him! He flicked off her clothing peice by piece as she did the same to his. "Thank you," he whispered. "Don't ever leave me again Ben Solo," she warned, "From now on, it's you and me, together in everything!" He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her, "Yes...in everything." Rey dragged him down onto the bed. "Gods, I've missed you Solo" she laughed. 

The next morning Rey was getting dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on her boots. There was a knock at the door and she opened it to see Finn. Finn looked across to the large half naked body of Ben Solo fast asleep in Rey's bed. Rey blushed as she realised what Finn was looking at. "Disgusting!" he commented. Rey laughed quietly, "Shhh, you'll wake him." She stood and walked Finn out of the room, closing the door behind her. "I'm not joking!" Finn said, "You and him? sleeping together?...its disgusting!" Rey laughed and punched Finns arm. "Just shut up!" Finn laughed too, realising he would just have to get used to the fact that Rey had the weirdest boyfriend in the galaxy, and nothing was going to change that.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise if this is crap. The chapters start out shorter but get longer as the story progresses. I intended including smut in a slow burn way but at the moment am having fun with the fluff and angst. I hope you enjoy it :)


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